Halwa Ceremony: Sitharaman Defends Tradition Amidst Controversy

New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday defended the customary pre-budget Halwa ceremony, saying that it has been going on since budget papers were printed at a press on Minto Road, and the sweet dish was prepared by the staff themselves as an Indian tradition before the start of something auspicious.

Taking on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who dubbed the traditional halwa ceremony as "budget ka halwa", Sitharaman said it is an emotional matter for the Finance Ministry staff who spend 5 nights and 4 days in quarantine to ensure the secrecy of the Budget proposals.

"Halwa is an emotional and sentimental matter... How can you deal (with) such an important matter so lightly," Sitharaman said.

Responding to Gandhi's remark that in the halwa ceremony photo no SC, ST or OBC was being seen, Sitharaman said it became a photo event from 2013-14 when the Finance Minister in the Congress-led UPA Government went to the cellar of North Block to distribute the customary pre-budget halwa.

"Why was the halwa ceremony not cancelled at that time? You (Gandhi) had the remote control power. How many SC, ST or OBC officers were there at the ceremony at that time?" Sitharaman questioned.

She said such statistical calculation of the caste of officers present at the halwa ceremony was not done earlier in the UPA regime.

"...It is a conspiracy that is happening now and that is why this question is being asked now... Why divide people now by asking (the) caste of everyone involved?," Sitharaman said, adding that one should refrain from presenting such an emotional ceremony in poor light.

She said that Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi were against reservation to SC, ST and OBCs and the leaders of the same party are now asking why they are not present in the halwa ceremony.

The minister also narrated two incidents which showed the commitment of officers attending the halwa ceremony before they enter the North Block cellar for budget printing.